


Moving On

by natashasbanner



Series: Endgame Missing Scenes/Fix It Fics [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 22:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19028914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: Bruce doesn't know how much longer he can take living at the compound, but he's doesn't want to leave either.





	Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> Another possible missing scene from Endgame. I hope you all enjoy :)

Bruce was spiralling. It had been a year since the Snap, but the cloud of hopelessness had yet to dissipate. Steve always talked about moving on, but Bruce felt stuck. And Hulk was no help. Ever since they got back, he’d been too close to the surface for comfort. Bruce felt like he was on edge all the time and it was exhausting. 

 

The thing that finally set him off was the toaster getting jammed. 

 

It started out like any other morning for the last year. 

 

The nightmare that woke him up was just his brain replaying everyone getting turned to dust, nothing he hadn’t seen almost every night. He was exhausted, but knew if he tried to go back to sleep, the nightmares would only get worse. Instead, he dragged himself out of bed and shuffled down the hall to the kitchen/living area. 

 

Natasha was asleep on the couch, curled against the arm with her tablet in her lap. Bruce grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and tucked it around her and put her tablet on the coffee table. He wished she’d go to her room to sleep, but the fact that he didn’t find her still working where he’d left her the night before was progress. 

 

He didn’t set the kettle to boil like he normally would to give her more time to sleep and instead brewed a cup of hot water in the pod coffee maker. While his tea steeped, grabbed what he needed for eggs and toast. He stirred the eggs in the pan and sipped his tea, glancing over his shoulder periodically. 

 

The eggs were finished and as he dished them out, he registered a burning smell. The toaster was smoking and he dropped the pan to the counter with a loud clatter in his rush to get it to release the charred bread inside. It did eventually, sending the toaster flying across the counter. 

 

Bruce reached to pick it up, but burned his finger tips in the process. He growled under his breath and stuck his fingers in his mouth. 

 

Rage like he hadn’t felt in years bubbled in his chest and no amount of deep breathing was going to stop it. Without thinking, he grabbed the toaster and flung it at the wall with as much force as he could muster with one hand in his mouth. It shattered on impact, the pieces raining down to the ground with satisfying thumps. 

 

It felt good and terrifying and he realized too late that he wasn’t the only one in the room. 

 

“Bruce?” 

 

Natasha was right behind him, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her eyes shifted from him to the burnt toast to the broken toaster and back to him, concern written all over her face. 

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

Bruce dropped his fingers from his mouth and started to say ‘yes’, but he couldn’t hold it in anymore. His face crumpled and the tears started flowing in an endless stream. He stumbled back, the counter digging into his waist. He slid down to the floor, clutching his head. 

 

It was too much, he couldn’t keep living like this. Acting like everything was fine during the day and spending his nights reliving the tragedy that decimated half the universe. But it wasn’t fine and Bruce had been operating on autopilot, trying to keep it together. 

 

Natasha dropped down beside him and sat there silently until he started to calm down. 

 

“What happened?” 

 

He let out an involuntary chuckle. “The toaster got jammed.” 

 

He looked at the shattered mess on the floor and dropped his head into his hands again. 

 

“I always hated that thing,” she said and Bruce couldn’t help but smile. 

 

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said softly. 

 

She sighed and leaned back against the cabinets across from him. 

 

“I’m pretty sure I got more sleep last night than the last three weeks combined,” she said with a shrug. 

 

Bruce shook his head. “That’s not good.” 

 

“Neither is throwing a toaster across the room,” she said challengingly, a bit defensive. 

 

“I just meant.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.” 

 

She tilted her head and pursed her lips. “Do what?” 

 

“This.” He gestured vaguely at the room. “Being stuck.” 

 

“What’s keeping you here?” she asked. “And if you say me, I’m gonna kick your ass.” 

 

“I wasn’t,” he denied and it was mostly the truth. 

 

He was the only one left there with her, the others long gone. Maybe they had the right idea. Steve and Rhodey were working on helping the general public move on. The Asgardians had arrived a few months ago and that was keeping Thor occupied for the time being. Bruce and Natasha were living the day after they got back to Earth after Thor killed Thanos over and over again. They acted like everything was fine until it wasn’t and then repeated the cycle again and again. They were stuck under this cloud of guilt and depression and taking the blame for the entire world with no way to move forward. 

 

Bruce was tired.  

 

“I can take care of myself,” she said, but she had that look in her eye she got when Steve moved out. “You do what you have to do.” 

 

He dropped his head back against the cabinet with a thud, just watching her. She wouldn’t meet his eyes and a sudden wave of guilt washed over him. 

 

“What’s keeping you here?” he asked. 

 

She didn’t answer right away, but when she did she shrugged. “Who else is going to keep this place running?” 

 

“Why does it have to be you?” 

 

She smiled softly. “Because the rest of you have other things to worry about.” 

 

Bruce sighed and reached out to squeeze her ankle. “There’s no changing your mind is there?” 

 

“Nope,” she said and shook her head. 

 

“Okay.” 

 

“Okay.” 

 

* * *

 

A week later, Bruce packed up what little he had at the compound and stood in the lobby. Natasha stood beside him, eyeing his suitcase. She’d assured him over and over that she’d been fine when he was gone, but Bruce still hesitated. 

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, bumping her shoulder against his. 

 

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “Just a little nervous.” 

 

“Nervous?” She actually laughed. “I’ve seen you smile more times in the last week than the last two years.” 

 

Bruce ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. It was true. 

 

“Where to first?” Natasha asked before the silence could get awkward. 

 

“Norway,” Bruce answered looking back up at her. 

 

“Say hi to Thor for me.”

 

“You know it’s not too late for you to come too,” he tried. “Stay a few weeks and help out?” 

 

She smiled and reached out to straighten the collar on his jacket. 

 

“This is supposed to be your trip,” she said. “I’ll be fine.” 

 

“You keep saying that,” he started but she cut him off. 

 

“Because it’s true.” 

 

He held his hands up in surrender. “Alright, you win.” 

 

She smirked and he reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. The red was back, only at the roots, like the old Natasha starting to peek through again. 

 

“I won’t be gone forever,” he promised. 

 

“I know.” 

 

She scuffed her foot against the floor and crossed her arms over her chest. 

 

“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she said softly and shot him a watery smile. 

 

Bruce leaned in and kissed her cheek, lingering in her space to whisper in her ear. 

 

“Take care of yourself, Nat.” 

 

“You too.” 

 

Bruce bent down and picked up his duffle bag. He slung the strap over his shoulder and turned for the door. The car outside was waiting to take him to the airport. He took a deep breath and glanced over his shoulder one last time before heading out the door. 

 

He wished Nat would change her mind, accept that she wasn’t okay and try to move on. But everyone healed in their own time and Natasha was as stubborn as ever.


End file.
